Regehr leaves practice early; cap issue raised again

Robyn Regehr left today’s practice early and did not return, throwing his availability for tomorrow’s game against Vancouver into question. The defenseman did not speak with reporters before leaving the team’s facility.

I was about to start chatting with Mike Richards when Dean Lombardi walked by; I wasn’t a part of the conversation, though Lisa Dillman of the LA Times learned from the Kings’ general manager that Regehr is “questionable” for tomorrow’s game. The nature of the injury was not disclosed.

Should Regehr not be able to play, the Kings’ salary cap inflexibility could be a concern again.

Though CapGeek.com lists the Kings’ cap space today as $549,727 – and cap space grows every day – the site, while an excellent resource, does not provide a firm, 100% exact account of each team’s finances. While CapGeek tweeted four days ago that their “estimates” indicate that the Kings could recall a player “perhaps as early as November 8,” that’s not a clear, definitive answer to whether the Kings would have the necessary cap space to do so should Regehr not be able to play.

For what it’s worth, the only healthy defenseman in Manchester with a league-minimum salary of $550,000 is Vincent LoVerde, a 25-year-old former teammate of Alec Martinez at Miami University. LoVerde has one goal in eight games at AHL-Manchester and is a fourth-year pro. Other defensive options might not be able to fit under the cap: Colin Miller has a $602,000 cap hit, and Alex Roach of ECHL-Ontario has a $567,000 hit. Andrew Bodnarchuk, who has a $550,000 hit and would have been an ideal call-up if needed under the current circumstances, injured his knee during training camp and has not returned to action.

Jamie McBain, a veteran of 275 NHL games with the Carolina Hurricanes who was signed to a PTO with Manchester in late October, is also an option, though he has appeared in only three games with the Monarchs this season.

Darryl Sutter downplayed the team’s latest personnel challenge; the Kings played one skater short against Philadelphia on October 28 before recalling David Van der Gulik the following day.

“We don’t really think about it that much,” Sutter said. “A lot of teams play four. It has no bearing on anything…who’s in and who’s not in. That’s it. I don’t get too caught up in any of that stuff. We just went through that a week ago. You get the same answer. We’ve been through it.”

Saying that the team’s early season adversity is “challenging and “not easy,” Sutter offered an appraisal of the team’s ability to get through the injury and personnel slog. Slava Voynov, who continues to skate by himself at Toyota Sports Center, remains suspended by the league following his arrest on suspicions of domestic violence while his $4.17 million cap hit stays on the team’s books.

“Hey, we’re playing as good as we can,” Sutter said. “After every game if we win, they go, ‘Well what was wrong with that,’ or when you lose, ‘what was wrong with that?’ You know what? We’re playing as good as we can. That’s what I ask, and that’s what we do.”

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